This award-winning story of Minnesota State University Professor Diane Manahan, R.N., shows how to be in the driver's seat for the final journey, from diagnosis, to death, to home funeral, and beyond. People who seek a holistic, sacred approach to living can learn from this extraordinary nurse's wisdom. Those who fear illness or death can gain strength and confidence by having tools to help others—or themselves—complete their lives with dignity, purpose, and peace.

Authors Nancy Manahan, Ph.D. and Becky Bohan, M.A., honor the legacy of their sister-in-law in this transformative book that combines the wisdom of Tuesdays with Morrie and the audacity of The Last Lecture with the holistic medical expertise of Andrew Weil and the transcendent spirituality of Elisabeth Kübler-Ross.

About the author

Nancy Manahan, Ph.D., is a community college English, women’s studies, and film studies teacher, now retired. Her writing has appeared in numerous journals and anthologies. Her books include Lesbian Nuns: Breaking Silence, a groundbreaking anthology published in eight languages, and On My Honor: Lesbians Reflect on Their Scouting Experience.

Becky Bohan earned her M.A. in English Literature from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She is the retired Vice-President of Knowledge Design and Delivery, Inc., a training consulting company. She has published a suspense novel, Sinister Paradise, and a mystery, Fertile Betrayal.

Nancy and Becky grew up in Madelia, Minnesota, Diane Manahan’s hometown. Both received their undergraduate degrees in English from the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis. They make their home in Minneapolis.

Nancy and Becky are available to share their experiences of Living Consciously, Dying Gracefully: A Journey with Cancer and Beyond with groups. Please contact them for availability at info@nanbec.com.

What's being said

"The most profound book on death I've ever read." 

-Vicki Landes, Reader Views/USA Today, Blog News

"A wealth of knowledge, strength and comfort. " 

-Kirkus Discoveries

"An Important resource for health professionals."

-Explore:  The Journal of Science and Healing, Mary Jo Kreitzer Ph.D., RN, Director of the Center for Spirituality and Healing, University of Minnesota

"I highly recommend it to those who care for people with cancer, as well as patients, friends, and families,"

- Integrative Cancer Therapies, Victor S. Sierpina, M.D., Unive. of Texas Medical School

"One of the fiest books I have ever read!  It's impossible to read it and not be moved, feel more human, open your heart, and feel connected to Life." 

-Krysta Kavenaugh, editor-in-chief, Marriage

“Sharing the wisdom from a terminally ill nurse educator’s own journals, this book enables Diane Manahan to convey her final, greatest lesson: how to live fully until—and beyond—death. Her inspiring story elicits goose bumps, laughter, and tears. It is a priceless template for patients, caregivers and loved ones who seek a holistic, sacred approach to a serious illness or to end-of-life care.”

—Mary Treacy O’Keefe, M.A. Co-Founder and Executive Director of Well Within, Author of Thin Places: Where Faith Is Affirmed and Hope Dwells

“A great life is never extinguished, because compassion, love, and wisdom are eternal. That is why we believe Diane Manahan’s life and light will continue to shine through the ages.”

—Larry Dossey, M.D. Executive Editor of Explore: The Journal of Science and Healing, Author of The Extraordinary Healing Power of Ordinary Things. And Barbara Dossey, Ph.D., R.N. Director of Holistic Nursing Consultants and Author of Holistic Nursing: A Handbook for Practice

“All of us face the death of a loved one and eventually our own death. Living Consciously, Dying Gracefully is a wonderful lesson for us all in facing that time with honor, dignity and beauty. Diane Manahan teaches us how to live and how to make death an event to be shared by those who love.”

—Lee Lipsenthal, M.D. ABHM . President, The American Board of Holistic Medicine and Founder, Finding Balance in a Medical Life

“Diane’s story is a living example of an elegant spiritual life.”

—C. Norman Shealy, M.D., Ph.D. Founding President, American Holistic Medical Association and Author of Life Beyond 100 and Soul Medicine

Winner, Midwest Book Award (MIPA), Health

Winner, WOW! (Women on Writing), Best Book in Women's Literature

1st Runner Up, Eric Hoffer Award for Independent Books, Health/Self-Help

Sliver Medal, IPPY (Inderpendent Publisher Book Award), Aging/Death & Dying